Havoc Wreaking
by Kilrez
Summary: The day was slow and House was bored, so he used it to explore this recent gem of knowledge that had come to his attention'


**Havoc Wreaking**

Something had come to House's attention. The day was slow, he was bored, and the right moment came up, so he used it to explore this recent gem of knowledge he had gleaned off an eavesdropped conversation.

Opening the door between his office and the conference room, he paused for a moment whilst still out of view, just to check that nothing too interesting was being said. A vaguely industrious silence met his ears, so he made his entrance, garnering instant attention as was usual.

'Chase?' He asked, just so the Australian would definitely know he was being targeted.

'Yeah?' Asked the man. He never could keep the slight wariness from his voice when House asked him direct questions. Made House reckon that he had a few things to hide. He made a small mental note to look in to them, later.

'How much you in for on the bets that Wilson and I are sleepover buddies?'

'Wha…?' Chase opened his mouth, brain automatically shoving a syllable out so he didn't look too much like a gaping fish. Instead he looked exactly like he'd been caught off guard with a question he didn't want to answer. Foreman watched with interest.

House gave him a look that kindly requested no bullshit. It worked, to some extent, and Chase filled in the sucking silence.

'I'm… I'm not.' Stammered Chase. The little flick of the eyes told House everything he needed to know.

'Well that confirms that there are bets running, thank you. Now try again, only with the truth.'

'Truth is only a point of view really…' Chase trailed off. House's stare was withering. '$60 in the radiology pool, $100 around the OB-GYN lounge.'

House didn't react at all to the abrupt revelation; something that he knew drove everyone around him insane. People seemed to crave instant reactions. Chase now had no idea how to tread, whether House was pissed off or amused or both. It was terribly fun.

'What about you Foreman?'

The neurologist didn't even try to dissemble. 'Just $200 with the radiology nurses.'

'Cameron?'

'I didn't know there were any bets,' she replied, lightly pained confusion in her eyes. She never really liked it when House appeared out of the blue with stuff like this. He subjected her to an intense stare for a few seconds, which served the dual purpose of usually making liars nervous enough to fidget and allowing him to pick up any other subtle tells.

Nodding once, he made to head back to his office.

'Aw come on! How come she gets away with that?' That was Chase, protesting because he felt heartily uncomfortable about being made to reveal the bets.

'Because she's not lying,' pointed out House, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

'What about me?' Asked Wilson, and House turned to look at him in mild, inquisitive surprise. It looked like he'd been listening to the conversation from the start. Picking up on House's own habits no less.

'How does that work?' Questioned House, amusement taking his features for the time being.

'On the bets? Easy. I got Jenny-'

'She that nurse in pathology?'

'-no, receptionist in the ICU- to put in a 50 for me.'

'Going which way?' asked Foreman, in spite of himself.

'Uh, why?' asked Chase, almost at the same time.

'Which way do you think?' House asked Foreman, tone light, but a very, very loaded question. Foreman just looked at him, not answering.

Wilson was leaning on the doorway, very amused. 'Why? Because it's easy money because I actually know the answer-'

'You never know, I could have been using date rape drugs.'

'Now that's something to keep me awake at night.'

'You're welcome.' House treated it as a compliment, making Cameron smile.

'-And because it's really quite fun. I get regular updates on how the cash pool's going.'

'So…' said House, after a few moments of silence greeted this announcement. He glanced once at Wilson just to check if he was playing along. He was, as always. 'Wanna go make out in a free exam room? I think Foreman's wallet's still recovering from that paternity bet he lost, so we'd only be helping him out.'

'Sure.' Replied Wilson with a charming smile.

They walked off down the hall together, trying to act nonchalant despite the silence they could almost hear resounding behind them in the conference room. 'Lunch?' Asked House, satisfied with his havoc wreaking for the day.

'Only if we're going out. Hospital food is terrible.'

'Would I let my girlfriend suffer second-rate food?' Asked House in mock offense. At that, Wilson could hold it no longer, and burst out laughing.

The End.


End file.
